``Then it wouldn`t drip down the sides,`` said Mooney, who treats the terminal he helped build at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport as if it were his own newborn baby.

But Joe Udell of Jaxson`s is cool to the idea of changing his cones and cups.

``We are known for a large, large, quality portion,`` Udell said.

He said he already is serving 4 ounces of ice cream in a cone designed for 6 ounces. The milkshake cups are oversized and have extra wide bottoms so they won`t tip over easily, he said.

Mooney originally thought selling ice cream to passengers would be a good idea. The county stands to make at least $250,000 over the next five years from its cut of sundae, cone and milkshake sales.

But now Mooney is screaming about ice cream.

Ice cream has stained the new earth-tone tweed rugs, which cost up to $16 a square yard. Milkshakes have spotted the $800 orange-colored cotton sofas, and officials concede they may have to reupholster them in vinyl.

Crews have been cleaning the carpet around the ice cream parlor every few days, trying to remove spots, which have shown up repeatedly since the parlor opened Aug. 1.

``We`re going to have to do something before the rug is ruined,`` Mooney said. He does not anticipate banning ice cream, like chewing gum, from the terminal shops. The airport, like many airports in the United States, tells the terminal shops not to sell gum because it is difficult to remove from the carpet.

This is not the first time the new terminal decor has given Mooney fits. The night the terminal opened, before a gala party for 3,000 guests, the $106,000- a-year expansion director was busy trimming the carpet with a pocketknife because he was dissatisfied with the quality of the installation.

Meanwhile, the stained carpet and chairs do not seem to bother Jaxson`s customers. Sarah Wills was gobbling chunks of a chocolate cone last week while waiting for a flight to Newark, N.J.